Rohingya Genocide – Two Years On And The Burmese Govt Still Doesn’t Care
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| (Photo: Reuters) |
By Fatimah Mazhar
June 10, 2014
Two years ago, on June 10, a state of emergency was declared across the western state of Rakhine after brutal clashes broke out between Rakhine Buddhists and Muslims – largely thought to be members of the ethnic Rohingya community.
The violence began when a so-called influential Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu initiated a nationalist campaign called the “969 Movement” against Islam’s expansion in a predominantly Buddhist country.
Soon enough, the riots took the ghostly form of a genocide – an ethnic cleansing which human rights advocates frequently compare to the events that tore apart a nation and killed 800,000 in Rwanda almost two decades ago.
Disappointed by complete inaction over blatant atrocities against the Rohingya people, activists – exiled and overseas – initiated the hashtag #Rohingya10June on Twitter, an online campaigncalling on the international community, world leaders and human rights organizations to put an end to the bloodshed.
Around 300 Rohingya Muslims have been ruthlessly killed and up to 140,000 displaced in the South Asian country, according to data provided by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates, there could be as many as 500,000 unregistered Rohingya refugees inside neighboring Bangladesh.
President Thein Sein, also a former military commander, made matters worse when he suggested the world body resettle ethnic Rohingyas abroad because they didn’t belong in Myanmar – despite living there for hundreds of years.
Even worse is the country’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s inexplicable silence and inaction over the issue.
The hashtag, mostly being used by independent activists, non-profit and exiled news organizations, is highlighting how miserable life has become for the Rohingya community in Myanmar.
Rohingyas are deprived of all public services. When they get sick they cannot go to state hospitals...#Rohingya10June pic.twitter.com/lrCB7scMP3
— Humanitarian Relief (@IHHen)
June 10, 2014
Employment:
Rohingyas are forbidden to work in public sector jobs. Today there is not a single #Muslim servant.. #Rohingya10June pic.twitter.com/QxEIvayVw2
— Humanitarian Relief (@IHHen)
June 10, 2014
#Rohingya10june #Rohingya live "like ghosts in the wind"- no rights, no provisions. pic.twitter.com/3Vemql5YZy
— BinHaroon Arakani (@azzozi)
June 9, 2014
Education:
More than 60% of #Rohingya children between the ages of 5 & 17 are not enrolled in any school at all #Rohingya10June pic.twitter.com/X0aJk4rvMt
— Hossain Siddique (@1shahoo)
June 10, 2014
Citizenship:
Rohingyas have no right to citizenship. They carry "white cards" bearing the title “foreigner.” #Rohingya10June pic.twitter.com/FrNuaz7xzK
— Humanitarian Relief (@IHHen)
June 10, 2014
Religious Liberty:
No new mosques or madrasah have been allowed to be built in the last 20 years. #Rohingya10June pic.twitter.com/Kczz8pilew
— Humanitarian Relief (@IHHen)
June 10, 2014
Travel Ban:
The ongoing travel ban imposed on the #Rohingya population have completely paralyzed life #Rohingya10June pic.twitter.com/3poOKnXXBi
— Humanitarian Relief (@IHHen)
June 10, 2014
Housing:
Rohingyas are forbidden from building their houses out of concrete; they have to make them from wood. #Rohingya10June pic.twitter.com/ziz5n8deuY
— Humanitarian Relief (@IHHen)
June 10, 2014
Human Trafficking:
#Rohingya10June Human Trafficking: Muslim Women Vulnerable in Myanmar http://t.co/rEpjNVNDZb pic.twitter.com/dgExSrdpby
— zohaib86 (@zohaib86)
June 10, 2014
Given the fact that the Burmese government has not done anything substantial to secure the lives and livelihood of the Rohingya Muslims in the past two years, one wonders how much more time and bloodshed is it going to take to draw Aung San Suu Kyi and Thein Sein’s attention.
